Crossing the wilderness to survive, starting with a broken kitchen knife.

Fortunately, the shelter wasn't far away, and Zhang Shi made it back before sunset. He glanced at the trap and saw another catch. A gray rabbit, about the same size as the one from yesterday, had been caught. It looked like it had been trapped for quite some time and was already dead. Zhang Shi swiftly went forward to collect the resources, not forgetting to reset the trap before entering the house.

"duang!"

After closing the wooden door, it was completely dark outside, and the cabin was plunged into darkness again. Zhang Shi opened the system panel and canceled the lighter rental. As 170 units of wood entered his backpack, Zhang Shi retrieved the lighter and lit the campfire. The cabin was suddenly illuminated again.

As the wilderness entered its second day, more and more people dared to leave their shelters and explore the surroundings. Whether it was treasure chests or basic resources, everyone would be richer than yesterday. Zhang Shi had already predicted that the lighter rental business would continue to decline.

Zhang Shi had a close call today and felt an indescribable fatigue rising in his heart. A voice in his heart was shouting: Don't go out. Just hide in this shelter from now on. Live one day at a time. It's too dangerous outside.

Zhang Shi shook his head violently, dispelling these negative thoughts. In seven days, the novice protection period would end, and according to the system reminder, there would be another natural disaster. With his current resources, even a single ferocious beast would be enough to rip him apart, let alone a full-scale natural disaster.

Zhang Shimeng drank a bottle of water, leaned against the window, and sorted out the supplies that he had not had time to check today.

Just got another one from the trap:

[Rabbit meat 600g (white) x1] [Rabbit skin (white) x1]

Double the amount you get from Premium Chests:

[Quilt (White) x2: Strong warmth retention, soft and comfortable, allowing you to feel the warmth of home even in the wilderness.]

Oil Lamp (White) x2: Consumes kerosene to dispel darkness and bring light. Fuel 100/100.

[Deluxe King Bed (Blue) x2: A person is a drifting ship, and a bed is a warm shore. This high-quality wooden bed increases your energy recovery speed by 20%.]

Zhang Shi perked up, lit the oil lamp, and hung it by the window. He took out a large, luxurious bed, spread a quilt on it, and eagerly tried it out. The two quilts were soft, one for a cushion and the other for a cover. Zhang Shi immediately felt a surge of comfort, and couldn't help but moan.

"Ah~ It's so comfortable."

Zhang Shi lay on his luxurious bed, feeling his strength gradually recover. He decided not to rush into anything else, but instead opened the system panel to check today's trading market.

Zhang Shi was surprised by this sight. So many new resources had appeared on the market today. Things like iron ore, mud, coal, vines, and even some finished pig iron and white-quality blueprints had appeared. Zhang Shi checked the price of iron ore and found it incredibly expensive. The exchange rate for stone to iron ore was a staggering 10 to 1. The exchange rate for wood to stone was also 5 to 1. As for pig iron, its price had skyrocketed, yet despite this, it was still unavailable.

Zhang Shi was a bit bewildered. Relying on Old Duan, he could chop trees at a speed comparable to a cheat. Even so, after a busy day, he could only redeem 50 units of iron ore. If he didn't have that cheat, relying solely on the tools included in the newbie gift pack, he'd probably have to wait until the end of the novice period to upgrade his shelter. Only then did Zhang Shi realize that simply chopping trees and mining wouldn't lead to great wealth.

Zhang Shi switched back to his friend list and contacted Liu Yu, intending to test his opinion. Unexpectedly, as soon as Zhang Shi sent the message, the other party replied immediately.

"VIP boss, I thought you forgot about me. Do you want to exchange stones? I have enough here."

Zhang Shi was a little surprised to see Liu Yu so confident, so he typed a text and sent it to him.

"I'm looking to exchange 350 units of stone. The traded items can be wood or food. Also, I noticed some iron ore appeared on the market today. Do you have any in stock?"

Liu Yu replied quickly, "Boss, the price of stone changes daily. Yesterday's rate is definitely not going to work. However, I won't cheat you here. It's a 4 to 1 ratio, and you can settle it with wood. As for iron ore, it can be mined from stone. I mined stone all day today, and the output rate is about 10 to 1. The output is very small, so I don't plan to sell it for the time being."

Zhang Shi was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected Liu Yu to actually take on such a large order. Most survivors these days would only manage to get a dozen or so units of stone after a full day's work. This Liu Yu must have had some incredible luck.

Zhang Shi submitted the trade request, and Liu Yu completed the transaction shortly thereafter. After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Shi looked at the stone that had fallen into his backpack, feeling somewhat relieved. He then glanced at the market and instantly bought 2 units of mud at the price of 45 wood per unit. At this point, all he needed to successfully upgrade his cabin was the blueprints for a stone house.

Zhang Shi felt a pang of pain as he watched the rapidly depleting wood in his backpack. Wood was now essentially the same as the base currency, so he immediately listed the plums on the market, hoping to recoup some of his losses.

400 plums were put on the shelves at once, priced at 2 lumber each. As soon as they were put on the shelves, the system alerts started blaring non-stop, and within 3 minutes, all 400 plums were sold out. Many people left comments below the transaction order.

Mad Blade of the Bloodthirsty Demon Realm: Anything produced by Boss Xiongfeng must be a top-quality product. Each fruit weighs 100 grams and is very juicy. It can quench thirst and resist hunger. I ate 10 of them in one breath, which solved my food problem for tomorrow.

Johnnie Walker: Damn, you are crazy about making money, selling a broken plum for two pieces of wood, where did this black market trader come from, you are getting 4000+.

The chief steward of the Anti-Japanese University: The above person is just nitpicking. You haven't even calculated how much food and water you consume in a day. The price offered by Xiongfeng Boss is already very reasonable.

Void Snorlax: The guy above is so filial, is he a water army? Let’s make money together.

Humanoid Teddy: @Revitalize the Man's Glory, Boss, is your ID real? Can you please pay attention to me, woo woo woo.

Zhang Shi always ignored these rumors. He scanned the market again, but seeing no plans for the stone house, he clicked on Zhao Feng's profile picture and traded 50 ordinary plums and 20 high-quality plums to him.

The transaction request was accepted as soon as it was sent. A video call followed. Zhang Shi picked up the video and saw Zhao Feng's extremely exaggerated expression on the other side. His eyes were wide open, his mouth was wide open, and he looked quite funny.

"Shitou, where did you get these plums? They're blue quality. I just ate one. It's sour and sweet, really refreshing."

Zhang Shi was amused by him.

"Is it delicious? I'll look for it again tomorrow. If you like it, I'll make you some more."

"Woo woo woo, my dear brother, the food I've had these past two days has been nothing but fish and bread. Now my mouth is filled with a fishy taste. I feel like vomiting just by looking at the fish."

Zhang Shi shook his head helplessly. Meat is scarce in the current trading market and even if there are resources, they cannot be exchanged for it. For survivors like them who have food and drink, their living standard is already very high.

Zhang Shi sent information about rabbit meat and duck meat and asked, "Pick whichever you want."

Zhao Feng's eyes widened. He pursed his lips, swallowed, and answered firmly, "Of course I want them all!"